Podcast Summary: Reveal – "Fancy Galleries, Fake Art"

Date: December 20, 2025
Host: Al Letson
Reporter: Giselle Rigatau
Podcast by: The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX

Overview

This episode investigates one of the largest art fraud scandals in modern U.S. history, where 63 expertly forged masterpieces were sold through prestigious New York galleries for over $80 million. Reveal reporter Giselle Rigatau takes listeners deep inside the web of deceit connecting under-the-radar forgers, complicit or negligent gallery staff, and a laissez-faire industry culture. The story also explores the broader implications for both art market regulation and justice for scam victims.

Main Story: How a $4 Million De Kooning Exposed a Massive Art Fraud

Introduction to the Art Fraud

• [02:51] Reporter Giselle Rigatau visits art collector John Howard at his Manhattan brownstone.

  • Howard’s prized painting—supposedly by Willem de Kooning—was bought for $4 million in 2007.
  • He discovers it is a fake when an expert points out the yellow pigment could not have existed in 1953, when the piece was allegedly painted.
  • Quote:
    John Howard (04:34): "That particular chrome yellow wasn't invented until 1990."

• This painting is just one of 63 forgeries that federal prosecutors would later reveal had netted over $80 million. The forgeries were created by a small group led by Chinese painter Pei-Shen Qian, and funneled through a chain involving Spanish and Mexican-American partners—ultimately landing at highly trusted establishments like Knoedler Gallery and Julian Weissman Fine Art.

How the Scheme Worked

• [05:28] Painter produced fakes in a garage in Queens, mimicking the styles of Pollock, Warhol, Rothko, and others.

• They aged the paintings with teabags and even vacuum cleaner dust to add authenticity.

• Glafira Rosales posed as a dealer for a secretive European collector and sold the works to galleries.

  Quote:
  Giselle Rigatau (05:45): "They rubbed tea bags on them to make them brown... even emptied dustbuster bins on the canvases because old paintings have dirt and dust that collect on them."

The Gallery Connection and Complicity

• [06:25-07:04] Knoedler Gallery, a storied institution, sold 40 of the 63 fakes; Julian Weissman Fine Art sold the remaining 23.

• Collectors like Howard, unaware of the scam, relied entirely on gallery reputation.

  • Quote:
    John Howard (06:53): “These are the most august, serious people, institutional people in the world, and they’re vetting it. So what more work could I have done?”

• FBI eventually investigates, but most perpetrators evade prosecution. Only Glafira Rosales was convicted—serving three months in prison. The galleries themselves avoided charges.

  • Quote:
    Giselle Rigatau (07:33): “...this story isn’t just about them. It’s also about those two art galleries that sold the 63 fake paintings.”

Red Flags and Gallery Profits

• [10:00-13:10] Even artists’ descendants and expert committees, like Richard Diebenkorn's daughter, felt something was "missing"—the paintings had "no soul."

  • Quote:
    Gretchen Diebenkorn Grant (10:02): “It didn’t have any soul. It had no life.”

• Galleries sold the paintings at massive profit margins (up to 90%, versus typical 20–30%), driven largely by the surging supply of "discovered" masterpieces.

Lax Regulation and Art Market Culture

• [14:53-18:44] Mark Limcher, president of Pace Gallery, explains how provenance and catalogues raisonnés are supposed to protect buyers, but secrecy and trust culture in top-tier galleries create loopholes.

  • Quote:
    Mark Limcher (16:06): "That famous owner does not want anyone to know that this painting is for sale... that lends us towards a possibility for fraud."

• Galleries routinely allowed works to be sold with little to no provenance, relying on handshake deals and the mythos of exclusivity.

Turning Point: Cataloguing the Forgeries

• [26:05-28:18] Jack Flam, head of the Motherwell foundation, helped bust the operation by assembling multiple suspicious "Motherwells"—all with nearly identical signatures and materials unavailable in the 1950s.

  • Quote:
    Jack Flam (27:40): "It was almost like a template...I think they are fake."

• After alerting Knoedler president Ann Friedman, the gallery goes on the defensive; eventually, the FBI is contacted, leading to the closure of Knoedler in 2011.

(Lack of) Accountability

• [31:28-35:19] Gallery heads and owners decline interviews, presenting themselves as victims.

• Ann Friedman's lawyer, Luke Nikas, argues Knoedler did "thousands and thousands and thousands of pages of research" and believed in the plausibility of the source story, though ultimately this research was not genuine due diligence.

  • Quote:
    Luke Nikas (33:53): “You have the work of art there, and if you’re comfortable with the work of art, then this is, in essence, the story that’s behind it.”

  • Concession:
    Luke Nikas (37:13): "But ultimately, this information sold works that were fake... did we mean for that to happen? I think they’d say absolutely not. But did that happen? Of course it did."

• Prosecutors explain the high bar for criminal prosecution—intent to defraud beyond a reasonable doubt—was never met for gallery staff.

  • Quote:
    Jason Hernandez, U.S. Attorney's Office (38:21): "The burden in a criminal case is extremely high... and you gotta convince 12 people of that."

• Legal expert John Lauro expresses disbelief no one else was prosecuted:

  • Quote:
    John Lauro (38:46): "I've seen cases with much less evidence get convictions, much less."

Consequences and Broader Implications

• Rosales ordered to pay $81 million restitution; her house and assets were seized. She now works as a waitress after serving just three months.
• The scam led to soul searching in the art world, especially when similar incidents emerged, like 25 Basquiat forgeries shown at the Orlando Museum of Art in 2022.

Second Story: The Nazi-Looted Modigliani and the Panama Papers

• The episode transitions ([43:12]) to a historical art theft—Nazi-looted Modigliani, "Seated Man with a Cane".
• Traced through the Panama Papers and extensive art detective work, the painting was allegedly stashed in Swiss warehouses and fought over in court by descendants of the original owner and a billionaire art dealer’s family.
• CBC journalist Frederic Zalac and Reveal’s Emily Harris detail how shell companies obscure real ownership, a practice paralleling the secrecy and loopholes exploited in the Knoedler fraud.

Notable Quotes & Moments

| Time | Speaker | Quote/Remark | |---------|-----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 04:34 | John Howard | “That particular chrome yellow wasn’t invented until 1990.” | | 06:53 | John Howard | “These are the most august, serious people… and they’re vetting it. So what more work could I have done?”| | 10:02 | Gretchen Diebenkorn | “It didn’t have any soul. It had no life.” | | 16:06 | Mark Limcher | “That famous owner does not want anyone to know that this painting is for sale... that lends us towards a possibility for fraud.” | | 27:40 | Jack Flam | "It was almost like a template...I think they are fake." | | 37:13 | Luke Nikas | "Did we mean for that to happen? I think they’d say absolutely not. But did that happen? Of course it did." | | 38:21 | Jason Hernandez | "The burden in a criminal case is extremely high... you have to prove that someone set out to defraud another person beyond a reasonable doubt..." | | 38:46 | John Lauro | "I've seen cases with much less evidence get convictions, much less." |

Key Takeaways

• The art world’s prestige ecosystems and traditions of secrecy provide a fertile ground for massive fraud.
• Collectors, trusting reputations and due diligence, become easy targets when galleries abandon best practices in favor of profit.
• Gallery staff and owners rarely face legal consequences unless clear criminal intent is established.
• High-profile forgeries continue to surface, sparking renewed calls for better regulation and transparency.

Suggested Timestamps for Segments

• [02:51] – John Howard’s de Kooning & discovery it’s a fake
• [05:09] – Overview of the $80 million fraud, key players, and modus operandi
• [06:25] – Knoedler and Julian Weissman’s role; impact on collectors
• [09:47] – Artist and expert doubts (“no soul”), industry’s fear of saying “fake”
• [13:10] – Financial stakes and profit anomalies at Knoedler
• [14:53] – Trusted art dealer’s perspective on safeguards and provenance
• [26:05] – Jack Flam and the bust of the fake Motherwells
• [31:28] – Galleries’ defense via lawyers, legal and cultural analysis
• [43:12] – Nazi-looted Modigliani and the Panama Papers revelation

Tone & Style

The reporting combines curiosity, incredulity, and dismay. The narrative is investigative but deeply human—focusing on personal, financial, and cultural stakes for collectors, experts, forgers, and dealers alike.

Conclusion

"Fancy Galleries, Fake Art" reveals how the intersection of money, trust, and secrecy allowed one of the biggest art frauds in history to flourish for years—and how accountability remains elusive when powerful institutions are involved. This two-track investigation expertly exposes both long-standing vulnerabilities in the elite art market and the recurring patterns of impunity that enable them.